Leadership and Power in "The Lion King"

One of The Lion King’s primary focuses is leadership and power. Throughout the whole movie, it is a battle of who has power, who wants power, and who is the best leader for the circumstance. Mufasa, the king of Pride Rock at the beginning, and Sarabi, his wife, give birth to their son, Simba, who is next in line to become king. Scar, Mufasa’s younger brother, is extremely upset that he will never be king and have power. Mufasa is the quintessential “good” leader. According to the trait approach, which states that “good” leaders possess specific traits, intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity, and sociability are the most common traits amongst the best leaders. Mufasa, evident strong and brave, is also able to verbally talk to his community in a respectful and intelligent way; he has exceptional influence over those in his kingdom; he has perseverance in the face of obstacles; he is loyal to his family and friends; and he is courteous and friendly to all. Scar, on the opposite side, possess negative traits. Indeed he is very intelligent, but he uses his clever mind for nefarious doings. He only has influence over his Hyenas, and he is exceptionally deceitful to all. He is in no manner sociable because he refuses to live with the other lions, instead he mops around his own cave. As Simba grows, he possesses similar traits to his father’s, but he tends to be more rebellious, and gullible to his uncle’s manipulative ways. Sarabi is more passive and kind, but indeed a strong feline. Nala, Simba’s friend and future bride, is more assertive than Sarabi and has a tougher exterior. Scar, being extremely jealous of his older brother, is obsessed with the idea of becoming king and obtaining power over Pride Rock. He devises a plan with a goal to kill Mufasa and Simba so that he is next in line to take charge. His plan follows the structure of the Path-Goal Theory, which focuses on how leaders motivate their followers to accomplish certain goals.